


The Wrong Words (Whumptober Day 8)

by Jadelyn



Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Gen, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Feelings, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Self-Esteem Issues, Multi, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadelyn/pseuds/Jadelyn
Summary: There is a story, and it goes like this:There is a boy.  There is someone he loves.  But he says too much, or not enough, or the wrong things, and they leave him behind.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953790
Comments: 8
Kudos: 42





	The Wrong Words (Whumptober Day 8)

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: No 8. WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO?  
> "Don't Say Goodbye" | Abandoned | Isolation

There is a story, and it goes like this:

There is a boy. There is someone he loves. But he says too much, or not enough, or the wrong things, and they leave him behind.

* * *

There is a boy with dark eyes and darker curls, young enough still that his body is soft with puppy-fat. He has boundless energy and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He asks questions, for how else can one learn?

His mother lies to him, sends him away on a pretense. When he comes back, she is gone. He will not see her again for a hundred years - and even then, it is purely by chance, though she will claim it destiny. This is the first.

* * *

There is a young man, with prematurely whitened hair and the unnatural yellow eyes that mark him for what he is. He watches a monster in the shape of a man attack a young girl, and decides to intervene. He spins a clever line - well, he thinks it’s clever, anyway - before his blade bites into the man’s flesh.

He looks at the girl, the man’s blood covering them both in a grisly shared baptism. She screams at the sight of him, then vomits and faints. He takes the hint and walks away without speaking to anyone else. This is the second.

* * *

There is a man wearied by the Path he walks. He meets a girl who burns with a fire that frightens and draws him, all at once, like a moth to its doom. He tries to persuade her away from the bloody path she seeks to tread, and for a little while it seems he succeeded.

He crosses swords with her, because she gives him no other choice. He speaks to her still, tries to convince her to stop, but she will not listen. He lays her body down in the street and walks away alone, with her blood soaking into his hands. This is the third.

* * *

There is a man reputed to have no heart. He meets a woman with the passion of a tempest and throws himself into the heart of her storm. He asks what she wants, and she says she wants everything; he cannot give her that, but he makes a wish and gives her what he can, his protection, himself, and does not tell her.

He loses his heart to her, the heart he does not have, and she begins to accept it. When she finds out about the wish, their words sear the air between them. She storms away; he does not know if he will ever see her again. This is the fourth.

* * *

There is a man standing stiff and angry at the edge of a cliff. He is old, though he does not look it, and he is exhausted, though he tries to hide it. There is another man, with bright eyes and bright clothes and a brighter voice, who speaks too soon and too loudly for the man to bear.

His throat breaks open and the words spill out; he spits truth twisted into lies, fashioned into barbs to pierce the heart. The other man goes quiet under the lash of them, then turns and walks away. He will never see him again.

This is the last.

**Author's Note:**

> This is...literally the shortest thing I've ever written/posted. Also a major stylistic experiment. Feedback welcome on that!


End file.
